Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has quashed a preventive detention order issued last year under the Public Safety Act (PSA), declaring it unsustainable in law. The Court directed that the detainee be released forthwith if not required in any other case.
The order pertained to Muhammad Jaffer Sheikh, son of Ghulam Muhammad Sheikh of Nattas, Dool Kishtwar, who had been detained through Order No. 6th/DM/K/PSA of 2024 dated November 7, 2024, passed by the District Magistrate, Kishtwar. The case was heard by Justice M.A. Chowdhary on a habeas corpus petition filed by Sheikh, represented by Advocates S.S. Ahmed and Rahul Raina. The Government was represented by Advocate Eishaan Dadhichi.
The petitioner’s counsel argued that Sheikh was not informed of the timeframe within which he could file a representation against his detention. They further submitted that old FIRs from 1997, 2015, and 2019—cited as grounds for detention—had no proximate link to the present, and that neither the grounds of detention nor relevant material were properly supplied or explained to the detainee.
In response, the Government relied on three FIRs and four Daily Diary Reports (DDRs) recorded at Police Station Kishtwar and Police Post Dool to justify the detention. However, the Court observed that the DDR entries had not culminated in any criminal proceedings and mere allegations could not justify preventive detention.
Justice Chowdhary also noted that while Sheikh’s representation had been forwarded by the Additional District Magistrate to the Home Department on November 26, 2024, the record was silent on whether it was ever considered or communicated back to the petitioner.
Quashing the detention, the Court emphasized that personal liberty is among the most cherished freedoms under the Constitution and that the safeguards in Article 22 exist precisely to limit the State’s power to detain individuals without trial.
